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    • Is it safe to eat eggs, dairy during the latest bird flu outbreak?

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    In the weeks after multiple U.S. agencies issued about cases of H5N1 spreading among dairy cattle throughout the country, two U.S. states on the border with Canada now have confirmed cases: and . 

    The rapid spread of avian influenza, also known as avian flu or bird flu, among U.S. dairy cattle led to at least one person being diagnosed with the virus, a reminder that it can be transmitted between species.

    And it has prompted some states to issue reminders for safe cooking methods and in any style where the yolks are runny. 

    Is it safe to eat chicken, eggs?

    With warnings like this from officials south of the border, Canadians may be wondering whether it鈥檚 safe for them to consume eggs, poultry and meat.

    Matthew Miller is the director of McMaster University鈥檚 Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research. Speaking with 愛污传媒, he was fairly blunt when asked if there鈥檚 a risk to the food that Canadians consume. 

    鈥淣o, there鈥檚 not,鈥 Miller said. 鈥淭he agricultural surveillance for bird flu is excellent. It鈥檚 always important to follow proper cooking standards, because there鈥檚 always other nasty bacteria that can come from beef or chicken, but the (Canadian) standards for processing food protects consumers.鈥 

    On March 31, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) it had not detected bird flu in dairy cattle or other livestock, but that it is monitoring the situation closely.

    鈥楴ot a food safety issue鈥

    愛污传媒 reached out to several Canadian farming organizations for comment. 

    鈥淐anadian dairy producers already adhere to some of the highest biosecurity standards in the world,鈥 Lucie Boileau, director of communications for Dairy Farmers of Canada, said to 愛污传媒. 鈥淚t should be noted that only milk from healthy animals is authorized for distribution and for human consumption.鈥

    Pam Passerino, the communications team lead for Egg Farmers of Ontario, told 愛污传媒 that consumers should be assured the CFIA is definitive that this is 鈥渘ot a food safety issue.鈥 

    鈥淎vian influenza is not a threat to food safety, as it only affects birds. Poultry and eggs are safe to eat when proper handling and cooking occur. There is no increased public health risk related to avian influenza,鈥 Passerino said. 

    Miller says farmers who handle cattle and livestock are already well-acquainted with the rules of dealing with infections, and there are already well-established practices in poultry settings to avoid contamination.

    Can humans get avian flu?

    However, a large part of that is because chickens are typically housed in enclosures, and it鈥檚 much more difficult to protect animals that are usually in free-range environments, like cattle, from migrating birds that may carry the virus, as well as to prevent them from contaminating other cattle.

    Beyond the effect the disease could have on food, Miller says what farmers and Canadian officials should be most concerned with is preventing the spread of bird flu to humans. 

    鈥淭he most important thing we can do in the current context is to do everything we can to avoid human transmission,鈥 Miller said. 鈥淣o amount of energy or expense should be spared in taking every step that we possibly can to avoid those transition events from animals to humans.鈥

    A person in Texas was diagnosed with bird flu last week, and state health officials said the person had been in contact with cows presumed to be infected. While experts say it鈥檚 highly unlikely that this could spread beyond a few isolated cases, there鈥檚 no such thing as being too careful in a post-COVID-19 world.

    鈥淓verybody is painfully tired of dealing with infectious disease, and I think that鈥檚 led to people wanting to forget about the risks posed, which is understandable,鈥 Miller said. 鈥淏ut one thing that鈥檚 really important to emphasize for our leaders and politicians is the importance of prevention.

    鈥淣obody wants to live through another COVID pandemic, so a collective call to the government to invest in robust, preventative strategies is really important. Prevention is infinitely cheaper than responding to a pandemic,鈥 he continued. 

    As for individual precaution in avoiding the disease, Miller says to avoid dead animals and call the proper authorities to dispose of their bodies, as well as regularly cleaning shoes worn while walking in areas with lots of bird or geese poop.

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